


A Bolt of Green Lightning

by SonnieCelanna



Category: The Flash (TV 2014), 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Anxious Kodai Yui, BAMF Midoriya Izuku, Cute Kodai Yui, Cute Midoriya Izuku, F/M, Kodai Yui IS Bad At Social Situations, Kodai Yui Is A Dork, Kodai Yui Is A Hero Nerd, Kodai Yui Needs A Hug, Midoriya Izuku Is Connected To The Speedforce, Midoriya Izuku is a Dork, Midoriya Izuku is a Ray of Sunshine, Shy Kodai Yui, Speedforce Izuku, Speedster Izuku, Vigilante Midoriya Izuku
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:01:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 22,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26033857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SonnieCelanna/pseuds/SonnieCelanna
Summary: Yui Kodai was shy, anxious even. She struggled to interact with people other the simplest things so when she developed a crush on her next door neighbour, Izuku Midoriya, she felt she was screwed.For years it went on, never being addressed and then... things changed. When that fateful bolt of lightning struck Izuku, he became something else and when he did, Yui couldn't keep hiding anymore.
Relationships: Kodai Yui & Midoriya Izuku, Kodai Yui and Midoriya Inko, Kodai Yui/Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku and Kodai Yui's parents
Comments: 91
Kudos: 273





	1. Yui Kodai

**Author's Note:**

> Idea i've wanted to do for quite a while. Refer to end notes for more details. Beta'd by Whitetiger789 and waiting on beta work by Stephano1294
> 
> Want to talk to me on discord? You can find me at Syber Space:  
> https://discord.gg/aSMswsv
> 
> You may also be able to find me on Epsi's Hoard if you're lucky:  
> https://discord.gg/thehoard

Life is funny.

For no reason whatsoever as far as anyone can ever tell, things are always happening, things that lead to tragedies, things that lead to amazing advancements, things that lead to terror, or things that lead to love.

Things that only happen because a few key events happen in a certain order. Yet, that order is so rarely predetermined, instead just a simple course of fate. It’s fascinating.

And sometimes, if you’re very lucky, if everything lines up just right, maybe you’ll find what you’re looking for in life without ever having to venture farther than your home.

Of the many, amazing, mundane, curious and random events in the universe, there is one a certain black haired girl in the days of the future would forever consider to be the best one of these random occurrences.

The girl? Yui Kodai.

The event? The day her parents had to move house.

Yui was not a particularly vocal girl. There were a great many reasons that could be attributed to why that was and over the years many would certainly come up with a lot of theories.

She simply lacked the energy, she was unable to think of how to respond to most scenarios, her facial muscles were underdeveloped or outright missing due to a mutation in her family. Perhaps all of them could have some degree of truth, yet none ever hit the underlying cause.

Yui Kodai was shy. Incredibly so, anxious even. No matter what situation she wondered into, for as long as she could remember, she was afraid of messing up, of doing the wrong things, saying the wrong words, making people mad at her.

Her very first memory was of her simply speaking, of saying nothing more than what was on her mind to another toddler in daycare, pointing out how they looked. She wasn’t prepared for the kid she called fat to burst out into tears but it made her feel bad.

She didn’t want to make other people cry. So she stayed quiet. If she spoke her mind, she would hurt others. That was the scary thought always pervading her mind.

Her parents were always worried about her silence, but she was never sure how to respond to that worry. So she just remained quiet, never uttering out more than a dull “I’m fine” to them when she had to.

Then one day, Yui had her first fateful run in with one of the most destructive and erratic forms of weather. Lightning.

She was only five years old, entertaining herself with drawing during a storm when a bolt of lightning had ended up striking the side of her parent’s house, a wooden cabin near the edge of Shimane prefecture.

It didn’t survive the flames.

Yui fortunately had little to lose other than some drawings she didn’t much care for, the only plush toy she really cared about was tucked safely in her arms as her parents had picked her up in her blanket and ran out to safety with her as she watched the blazes from her father’s arms in confusion. The one thing she did cry about losing was a hero autograph and a few posters of All Might. She loved her hero merch and it hurt losing it, after begging so much for it in the first place.

Heroes and firefighters had arrived but they’d been too late to save the house, only able to put out the flames before they spread. Their home was still gone. It took Yui a few weeks to register and understand she was never going to see her old home again.

Fortunately, unlike most, the Kodai’s were not yet out of a home. Though it was only luck, her father’s brother had inherited an apartment their mother had used to live in and though the two brothers didn’t talk much, Yui’s uncle wasn’t going to let his family sleep in the streets, giving them the key.

Those were the fateful series of events that lead to Yui and her family moving into an apartment complex in the not so pleasant city of Musutafu. It was hardly the worst city in Japan… but it wasn’t the best, having one of the higher crime rates in the country as well as being one of the only three cities in Japan to still have prominent criminal gangs waiting in the shadows.

In the future, Yui would be certain if her parents had had any choice, they would never have taken the apartment in Musutafu but she was so glad they did. Because it wasn’t too long after they moved in that one last event would occur, that unbeknownst to her at the time, would define her next seven years.

It was a more or less normal day in her new home, her parents were finally settling in enough to start decorating and her father was going to be going in for a job interview that day. Her mom had found a school willing to accept her in, this late into the school year and she was working up enough courage to explore outside the apartment despite her shyness.

She never wandered far, at first not even really leaving the building as much as just wandering around it but she still tried to explore. It was in the midst of this exploring, on the second day, she finally saw him.

The first time she ever set her eyes on Izuku Midoriya.

She’d been playing in the hallway when she’d heard a door open, hearing two people approaching and ended up hiding away, too shy to want to run into two strangers. It was also the moment she realized if she kept doing this she’d never make many friends, and she didn’t want to upset her parents who always wanted her to be more social. Before she could think on it more, she saw a pretty looking lady with long green hair holding a small boy’s hand who had messy green hair of his own.

He was slightly smaller than her at the time, as she was a bit of a tall child compared to others though only by a few inches. He seemed restrained yet still excited as he hopped around his mother, wildly rambling about quirks his classmates had. Yet he seemed… hesitant. He reminded Yui of herself a bit, though she wasn’t sure why.

“Yes yes, I get it Izuku. Super speed quirks are very cool. Now come on, we’re going to be late and we don’t have super speed to change that!”

She saw the door they were leaving was quite literally next door to her parents, meaning the boy was her neighbour. Maybe… Maybe they could be friends? If she could work up the courage to approach him, maybe they could actually play together?

He was even talking about heroes a lot! Yui loved heroes, so maybe they’d like each other if they both liked heroes?

While it was never intended, her head was filled with thoughts like this throughout the entire day, and the idea of maybe having a friend soon even managed to make her a tad more confident, resulting in her venturing down the stairs and out into the park area nearby.

It was nice and calm… for a while.

__

_ “If you don’t stop uh, I’ll uh, I’ll stop you myself!” _

__

_ “You don’t stand a chance without a quirk, Deku!” _

__

The sounds of small explosions were what got Yui running. What she found made her stomach drop. Three boys, all equally mean looking were walking away. A fat boy with large wings, a skinny one with weird fingers laughing and both were being led by the one that set Yui on edge the most, a boy with spiky blonde hair and a skull shirt. They all looked way too amused and they barely spared a glance at her on the way past.

She ran into the park area and saw a normal looking boy with ginger hair holding his arm and calming down from crying. On the floor… Izuku laid there, battered, bruised and charred. Making Yui let out a tiny horrified gasp, more emotion than she was usually able to show, her shock coming through.

“What happened?” She asked quietly, as the other boy stood up. Then he let out a small snarl as he glared at Izuku.

“I was fine on my own! I didn’t need some stupid quirkless Deku making me look like an idiot!” The ginger said angrily as he went to kick Izuku, only for Yui to see and grab the foot pulling him to the ground.

Then, almost as if she was acting on instinct instead of though, her arms shot up as she shielded Izuku.

“Get away from him! He tried to help you!”

The kid just growled at her, not picking a fight with his injured arm, turning and walking off. Yui frowned, turning back around to see the child was unconscious. She leaned down, putting a hand to his head to make sure everything was okay.

“I…Izuku? That’s your name right, can you hear me? I’m your neighbour… Can you hear me? I want to help you…”

Nothing. He just stayed with his eyes closed, body very lightly twitching. With a frown, she realized he didn’t seem likely to wake up soon. She looked to the retreating ginger and even saw the mean kids about to disappear in the distance.

Did they attack him because he had no quirk? She frowned. She hated people like that. Her quirk hadn’t even come in yet but she was fine, she was a normal person.

It just made her blood boil under the surface, he seemed like a nice kid, why did they have to hurt him? It was this frustration she was channelling when her hand landed on a toy abandoned by one of the kids.

A little toy car with a convertible roof. All five fingers touched it and suddenly, it began growing. Her eyes went wide and she quickly grabbed Izuku, struggling to pull him away just in time as the car became the size of something more akin to the small cars she’d seen kids playing in before in toy stores.

A part of her was excited that her quirk had come in but now was hardly the time to think about that, as she walked up to it and gave it a light shove, watching it move easily like it was made of something far lighter.

Her quirk was new, weak, it couldn’t change weight yet. It was still as light as when it was a small toy, but it was perfect. With all her strength, she lifted Izuku into one of the seats and began pushing it away, back towards the building. It had an elevator.

She got him back to her house, where her parents had screamed. There was a whirlwind of activity, but all Yui registered was watching Izuku not wake up, until his mother came and took him, while thanking her before leaving.

He was back to school by the next week and he still had no idea she was even involved. What she didn’t know at the time was that was what would be normal for them going forward for a long time.

She wanted to approach him, to make sure he was alright, to tell him she hoped he was okay.

But that lovely little habit of hers, that shyness, that anxiety, it all came piling up to the surface to beat her over the head with so many doubts and fears.

‘What if you accidentally insult him, what if you scare him, what if you make him think you will hurt him, what if he doesn’t like you, what if he thinks you’re mocking him because you got your quirk from a moment he got hurt in, what if he just doesn’t want friends, what if what if what if-‘

She didn’t approach him in the end. She thought she could just wait until a bit later. Bring it up next time. Yet the longer she waited, the more things spiralled out of control, as she continued to watch him, not sure what else to do.

She saw him enjoy heroes, be kind, help others, watch heroes in action, she saw him be adorable with his mother, be bullied by his peers, hurt by his ‘friends’ all while a quirk never came in, even as she secretly rooted for him all the while. She even found out they wanted to go to the same high school, U.A. High, where All Might himself had gone before.

She saw him be amazing in his own way, yet never seem to realize it.

Yui loved heroes. Loved them enough she had an entire section of her room dedicated to them (though certainly still not as much dedication as Izuku had to All Might), she knew the best heroes, she knew the worst and she knew… she knew next door was already one of the greatest heroes in the world, just waiting to be unleashed.

And she could never work up the courage to approach him.

‘What if it’s too late? What if something changes when you do? What if you waited too long and now he’d hate you if you tried now? What if he thinks you’re a liar because you waited so long? What if he thinks you’re a creep because you’ve been watching him? What if he-‘

Every year, it got harder and harder.

Every year, Yui got quieter and more reserved.

Every year, Izuku proved his worth. Proved he was amazing and made Yui want to be his friend more.

Every year, Yui’s anxiety got worse and every time, she had more need to approach him and yet it became more likely she wouldn’t. It was a depressing cycle.

And it was all compounded by one point. When she was eight, when she had just watched Izuku disappear inside his home, when she wished she wasn’t such a damn social coward and could just knock on his door and ask him to play, she instead sat at the TV as her parents talked.

A romantic comedy was playing as her parents talked and she couldn’t remember how or why, but her parents began talking about old crushes. She continued watching the TV, as her mind stayed on Izuku.

She watched how the couple on screen acted, not even realizing when she slipped into her own little fantasy of it being her and Izuku. Then finally her curiosity got the better of her as her parents’ conversation continued to interrupt her.

“Mom, what’s a crush?” She asked with a blank expression and a monotone. She never had any inflection nowadays, always just seeming to have the one expression, the one feeling. It took someone perceptive to see how she really felt at any given moment.

“Well sweetie, a crush is someone you always find yourself thinking about, someone you really like and who makes you feel special, in a way other people don’t. Someone you’d be happy to spend all your time with. Does that help?”

“…Mm.” She nodded, turning her attention back to the TV as her mind went into shock as she came to a simple realization that made her difficult situation even more complicated.

She had a crush on Izuku Midoriya. She had a crush… on someone who didn’t even know she existed.

She wasn’t able to avoid crying herself to sleep that night.

That was the unfortunate tale of Izuku and Yui’s first seven years as neighbours. She eventually even joined his middle school to help try to talk to him yet never ended up in his classes and even when he was bullied, the best she could do was slide food or bandages his way when he wasn’t looking and disappeared.

A quirkless boy, bullied by everyone when all he wanted to do was help, forever unaware of the one girl who liked him, who wanted to help him, always trying to help him and encourage him from the shadows, too shy and scared to approach him.

Then one day, when they were twelve years old, when only three years remained until they went to high school, it finally happened.

The incident that changed everything with a bolt of green lightning.

* * *

Yui was tired. Enough you could probably even see it on her ever stoic face, bags under her bored eyes as her usual frown seemed slightly deeper than normal.

Teachers had not gone easy on her class that day. Bombarded with Maths tests, English tests, Japanese tests and even a full two hours of Physical Education, the black haired teen was about ready to collapse in the street.

None of this was helped by the fact she had had yet another chance to approach Izuku when her physical education class had been merged with his and she’d been just a seat away from him. She’d had to smack two bitches laughing at him to get them to shut up before she went to try and talk to him, trying to just do it while she could, brain running on adrenaline…

Before the gym teacher then decided to call her out  _ again _ , then Izuku after. In fact, as far as she could tell, any time she made any move towards trying to talk with Izuku, the one time she finally felt like she might have a chance as the exhaustion was getting in the way of the usual anxiety, her teacher seemed to have a knack for screwing her over.

With a frustrated sigh she readjusted her bag and kept walking alone. She had no friends to walk home with, she didn’t want any. None of them were Izuku, and they all seemed to get a kick out of mocking or outright hurting him. She’d never be friends with them after that.

She could only wonder what Izuku would be doing now, as she rarely saw him on the way home despite both attending the same school now. He always had other stuff to do before coming straight home usually.

Though today was a little different. Today, there were dark clouds overhead, rain pelting down rapidly into the streets and thunder rumbling above. It was dark and dreary and honestly Yui just wanted home where she could get out of the appalling weather.

She was only half way home however when she’d gotten a text from her parents, asking her to bring in some groceries. Not a lot, but enough for dinner that night.

At the time, she’d simply kept her blank face while annoyance bubbled underneath the surface, wishing she wasn’t being delayed but she’d later come to be thankful for them telling her to.

It only took her twenty minutes in total to get all the groceries she thought her parents could need that she had money for, and another ten minutes to be done with paying for it all, leaving the store and continuing on her walk.

She was considering using the spare change to grab a taxi home, heading in the direction she knew a taxi rank to be, only for all her thoughts to stop, all her frustration to disappear and only pure, unadulterated worry to take over.

Because, bruised, burned and bleeding in the streets, laying in a puddle was a very unconscious, almost dead looking Izuku. 

“IZUKU!” She shouted out as her eyes went wide, her face finally shifting from seeming boredom to horror as she ran to his side, dropping down beside him and quickly checking his pulse, letting out a sigh of relief as she saw he was still alive.

She looked up, ignoring the rain hitting her eyes and flinching at the sound of thunder, followed by a crack of lightning. She couldn’t leave him out here, not that she planned to but she needed him inside as quickly as possible.

Looking around for anywhere she could take him, she let out a sigh of relief at spotting an open garage not too far from them, the sound of a drill alerting her to the fact someone was inside.

She put her arms under Izuku and unlike when they were kids, Yui this time was easily able to lift the teen into her arms, the boy being far too skinny and light for her liking. She gritted her teeth.

No doubt it was due to bullying and if the charred arms were any indication, even the way she’d found him was due to that bastard Bakugou. She swore in that moment if she saw him again, there  _ would _ be a reckoning.

For the moment though, she focused on running to the garage, making multiple puddles splash as she tried not to agitate Izuku’s unconscious form too much, reaching the garage and putting him down, looking up.

“HELP! PLEASE!”

There was a clattering sound and a man with black hair and blue overalls came around the corner, pulling up a pair of safety glasses. His eyes went wide as he saw the boy and he quickly rushed over.

“What happened?”

“I don’t know! I just found him bleeding in a puddle outside!” She quickly explained, fumbling around for her phone.

“Alright stay here! I’ll go get a first aid kit, you call an ambulance kid!” The man told her and she nodded as she watched Izuku with worried eyes, gently squeezing his hand.

Then…

Then something impossible happened. Something that would change everything.

There was another rumbling and Yui’s attention was drawn outside to see the clouds lighting up. This time though… they turned blue, then red, then orange, then white…. Before suddenly a green bolt of lightning ripped away from the cloud, rapidly approaching the ground, only to change its direction in mid-air right before it would impact.

Yui barely had time for her eyes to go wide in horror before the bolt came through the garage door and hit Izuku in the chest, sending his unconscious form flying backwards and hitting a yellow drum, causing a clear liquid to come spilling out as he landed.

“AH!” The man from before shouted as he saw the child, having walked back in just in time to see him be hit, running and grabbing him. “Not good! Kid get away from that!”

Yui did as she was told, getting as far away from the liquid as she could and paling as she saw the label on it while running past, seeing it was labelled ‘Nitrous Oxide.’

Both child and stranger watched the liquid for a moment in worry, prepared for a blaze to begin.

While both were distracted with that, they both failed to notice a new development.

A small crackle of green lightning was jumping between Izuku’s fingertips.

With quicken breathes, as her worry began creeping up more and more on her, Yui took her phone back out as she dropped down beside Izuku, squeezing his hand and whispering quiet assurances as she punched in the number for the emergency services and waited until she could get an ambulance on the line.

While she did that, the stranger set to work doing first aid on him to the best of his abilities, struggling with the teen as Yui gave the address to the operator and told them to hurry. Once that was done, other than holding Izuku’s hand in the vague hope it was helping him somehow, she wasn’t sure what to do now.

She gritted her teeth and spotted a part of Izuku’s shirt, charred and sat on the floor. She wasn’t exactly sure what she was thinking when she picked it up but it made her feel a tiny bit better as she held it in her hands, so she didn’t let go.

The world felt like it was moving so slow, yet it was barely five minutes later that the sirens of the ambulance could be heard, another minute and there were paramedics putting Izuku onto a stretcher, pulling him to the ambulance.

Yui didn’t let go, even as they tried to pull her away. She refused to leave his side again.

“Miss, you have to step aside-“

“I’m family dammit!” She shouted in the man’s face. It may have been a lie but she refused to be separated from Izuku now.

“Look we-“

“Uh… Shigeki?” The other paramedic, a woman with blonde hair spoke up, getting Yui and the paramedic she was arguing with attention. “Look at the kid!”

Both did and were surprised to see his burns were starting to fade, way faster than normal. His scars were disappearing and his wounds were closing, stitching disappearing.

He was healing rapidly.

“That… that doesn’t make any sense. He’s quirkless.” Yui said quietly, getting the paramedic beside her to look at her oddly. He hesitated for just a moment before groaning.

“Fine, get in the back already. “ He told her, as he pulled Izuku in. “Just don’t get in the way.”

She nodded and clambered in the back, watching Izuku with a worried gaze.

“Please… be alright.” She begged quietly, worried about what was going to happen to him. “I’ll be here no matter what, I promise.”

There was a brief crackle of lightning in his palm she missed again, causing the lights on the ambulance to flicker. Her breathing hitched as her worry grew.

She didn’t lie with her promise but her anxiety was reaching an all-time high, only one thought present on her mind.

Just what was happening to Izuku?

Even then, she could feel it, she could tell… whatever it was…

Nothing would ever be the same after.

  
  
  



	2. Take It slow

Izuku Midoriya groaned as his eyes began to open. Vaguely, he was aware of a voice somewhere nearby but he didn’t recognize it at all. Whether that was because it was muffled and he was out of it or because he just didn’t know who it belonged to he could only guess.

What happened? He had been walking home, there had been a bang….

Something about Kacchan finding out Izuku had recently signed up for fighting classes? He couldn’t remember the beat down from his long time bully but he assumed it happened based on every other experience he’d had with Katsuki Bakugou.

They must have knocked him out…

Yet the ground was too soft, it was… a bed? His eyes opened full and though blurry, he saw the sterile and clean room he was, far too clean to be a normal bedroom.

Wait, wasn’t this a….

He suddenly shot up in his bed as he gasped, looking around. He was in a hospital.

“Oh uh… hang on, please try to be calm.” An uncertain voice spoke up and he turned confused, coming face to face with a black haired girl around his age who was wearing a blue blouse and black leggings. Her face was seemingly devoid of any emotion as she stared blankly at him, though if he had paid closer attention he may have noticed how her eyes had widened a tad when he looked at her.

“W-Where am I?” He asked, supremely confused and worried. Had Kacchan hurt him worse than he realized? And who was this girl?

“In a hospital.” The girl answered in a monotone voice, that betrayed nothing about her thoughts or feelings as she stood up and put a hand out, which he barely noticed paused in the air for a moment before landing on his shoulder. “You should lie back down for the moment. I will get a doctor.”

Confused though he was, Izuku nodded and did as he was told, lying back down. Before the girl left though, he spoke up. “U-Uh, who a-are you?”

“Oh… Yui Kodai. I found you.” She explained simply. So that must be why she was with him?

“O-Oh… t-thank you f-for taking me in then.” He voiced his gratitude despite his confusion. He’d never needed a hospital for Kacchan’s attacks before, did he really need one now?

“Mm.” The black haired girl hummed, betraying nothing of her thoughts once again and disappeared with an impressive speed for someone only walking.

About a moment later, a lanky male doctor with a kind face, curly red hair and rounded spectacles walked in with a soft smile.

“Ah, mister Midoriya. Good to see you’re finally awake.” The doctor smiled, stepping in and walking to his bed, picking up a clipboard at the bottom of it. “You’ve only just come to.”

“Yes sir. W-What’s going on?” He asked, tilting his head. He knew he’d been attacked but… well he felt absolutely fine. In fact, he felt better than fine, he felt refreshed for once in a way he never had before!

“Well, do try not to stress yourself out Midoriya, just remain calm as best you can.” The doctor instructed first and Izuku nodded his head in understanding. “Alright. In that case, I am doctor Horikoshi and I have been in charge of you since you were admitted into the hospital two months ago.”

Izuku’s brain froze and his jaw dropped. Two months?!

“You have been in a coma, I am afraid, and that is why you are here.” Horikoshi summarized. He looked up, walking over to take a seat beside his patient. “Do you remember what caused this coma?”

“U-Uh… W-Well there w-were these other s-students…” He felt like he was being a coward, like he was doing something wrong by admitting the truth but the doctors needed to know for the sake of him recovering, right? “A-And they never r-really liked me c-cause I’m quirkless. S-So they attacked me f-for something I can’t quite remember b-but I don’t remember any of the actual ‘fight’ a-at all. I must have been k-knocked out by them then?”

“Knocked out, certainly but they were not the cause of your coma.” Horikoshi explained, and he smiled softly at Izuku’s confused looks. “You see-“

“IZUKU!” There was a sudden shout mixed with so much panic and relief and Izuku looked up to see his mother, the portly Inko Midoriya rushing in the door, green hair frayed with worry as she came in. “Oh thank goodness!”

“Miss Midoriya, please.” Horikoshi chastised, standing up. “He’s only just woke up, please do not go frightening him like that.”

“O-Oh…” The older woman had the sense to look guilty as she flushed. “Sorry doctor…”

“I understand, it’s good news he’s awake. As I was just explaining to him, despite the injuries he suffered, assumedly from classmates, none of them were the cause of his prolonged unconsciousness.” Horikoshi hummed, turning back to Izuku and tapping the clipboard in his hand with a thoughtful expression. “But you see, according to several tests taken when you were admitted, it was determined that these injuries would have only caused you to lose a few hours at most, had they even remained.”

“Remained?” Izuku asked, curious, sitting up. What did the doctor mean by remained?

“You see, according to miss Kodai and the two paramedics who came out to pick you up, when they took you in, your injuries had healed at an incredible rate unseen in anything but powerful healing quirks before now. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about why this is?” Doctor Horikoshi asked and Izuku shaked his head confused but for a brief moment a small spark of hope ignited inside him.

Did he have a self-healing quirk that just needs an extreme circumstance to come out maybe?!

“Hm. Well, before I continue, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but if you are hopeful for a quirk I would say you should drop that hope.” He sighed. “I’m afraid it’s far more likely a side effect of the assumed quirk that did knock you out for these past few months.”

Izuku felt his soul get crushed and the light in his eyes died a little but with a heavy sigh he pushed past it to focus on what was important at the moment. “A quirk p-put me in a c-coma, sir?”

“An assumed quirk.” The doctor corrected. “Despite our best efforts, we couldn’t confirm anything in regards to quirks beyond the fact that your body has been behaving irregularly for someone who is quirkless. We are confident a quirk must be involved though with miss Kodai’s story… You see, the reason you’ve been in a coma for the past two months, mister Midoriya, is because you were struck by lightning.”

Izuku felt his mouth dry as he sat up straighter and his eyes widened. He could have sworn his heart skipped a beat out of pure shock… actually speaking of, his heartbeat had been feeling pretty fast this whole time…

As if hearing his thoughts, Horikoshi hummed and continued on.

“And that lightning has caused odd effects such as an alteration to the rate of your heartbeat. That, and the fact miss Kodai insists the lightning was green and changed course in the area specifically to strike you, along with the healing means that it must be some kind of quirk as far as we can figure out.” Doctor Horikoshi sighed. Then the redhead managed a dry chuckle as he met his patient's eye. “You certainly gave us a fair few frights in the early days. Your heartbeat would get so fast that it would seem like you were flat lining. Were it not for the fact we’ve seen our fair share of quirk based heart problems here, we probably wouldn’t have figured out the issue nearly quick enough.”

“S-So I didn’t flat line?” Izuku asked, relieve flooding him despite not remembering the incidents at all for obvious reasons.

“Not at all, though you caused a few black outs which fortunately were mitigated by the hospital using specialized power systems to account for those with electricity based quirks.” The bespectacled doctor smiled kindly, putting down the clipboard. “Despite these irregularities however, you’re fit as a fiddle and based on the fact you seem completely coherent, while I still need to run several tests to ensure you’re mentally all there, if you pass them you can be going home as early as tomorrow morning.”

Izuku clearly wasn’t the only one surprised by this as Inko’s eyes widened as well before she let out a loud sigh of relief.

“In the meantime, I will go let the nurses know of your awakening and ask them to bring some food. Feel free to catch up with your mother. As for you, mister Midoriya, I would recommend taking it slow for a while so you can recover fully.” Horikoshi smiled kindly as he left, leaving the mother and son alone. A moment of silence passed as Izuku processed everything that he’d been told before finally looking at his mother.

“Struck by lightning…” He repeated, still shocked.

“You gave me the worst fright of my life when I got the phone call.” Inko frowned, clearly emotional from even thinking about it. “They were talking about you as if you only had hours to live for a while. I was so worried…”

“I’m sorry.” Izuku flinched, only for Inko to shake her head and get up, coming over to hug him.

“It’s not your fault. You can’t control the weather or whatever the heck it was. If I find out who did though…” She growled that last part and Izuku did not envy whoever was responsible. If Inko did find them, may god have mercy on their soul because Inko Midoriya sure as hell wouldn’t. “But now you’re safe, and alive, and that’s all that matters. We’ll get you home, we’ll get you relaxed and rested and then we'll figure everything out from there.”

“W-What about my schoolwork?” Izuku asked with a frown, the thought suddenly hitting him. “I missed two whole months….”

“Kodai’s been collecting it for you.” Inko smiled and gently stroked the back of his head, a gentle action which he leaned into with a sigh. “She goes to Aldera as well.”

“Oh? I c-can’t remember seeing her…” He hums, though that wasn’t really saying anything. He did his best to block out everything about Aldera. He flinched for a moment worried she was one of his bullies before realizing it wouldn’t make much sense for her to be bringing his work and for her to not berate him when he woke up and even take him to hospital in the first place if she was.

His mother muttered something about seeing her more in the future but Izuku didn’t quite catch it as he blanked out for a moment, just enjoying the embrace. He could deal with the schoolwork later, and other people and all that.

A few minutes later, a nurse had walked in and gave him a small bowl of rice and some bread rolls, declaring they were not giving him much food while his body adjusted to being awake again.

Izuku thanked him as he left and he and his mother just sat and enjoyed both being around for a few moments while Izuku ate, Inko occasionally making a few comments about how he clearly hadn’t lost his appetite and how she was going to make a feast of Katsudon when they got home. (And that latter promise had certainly gotten Izuku drooling in anticipation.)

Following that, Izuku had briefly managed to get his mother to go to the cafeteria to go eat something for herself while Izuku got to freshen up, the nurse from before briefly coming back in to give him a new dressing gown.

He didn’t do much, just run some water over his face and under his arms, got some… needs out the way then turned to get dressed and that was when he noticed it for the first time.

Noticed a serious change. Right as he was bending over to pick up his gown, his eyes had caught himself in the mirror and he’d noticed the way his usual skinny body didn’t look so skinny anymore.

Nor did it look fat per se. As he stood and walked to the mirror his eyes widened as he took in his midsection. It wasn’t the most defined thing ever but…. He had a small six pack now.

That definitely hadn’t been on his body before. As he poked it, feeling how they were mostly solid, his brain rushed to figure out what the heck was going on and only one phrase seemed to reach his mind, encapsulating his confusion.

‘Lightning gave me abs?!’

Now that was just bizarre… Shaking his head, he recalled what the doctor had said about the changes from the lightning and supposed he’d just have to accept it. Besides, it was hardly a bad change, maybe it might even help him out a bit in future?

He still didn’t look much more intimidating at all or anything, (he only got abs and from the looks of it stronger legs and thighs, not necessarily bigger or muscular overall) but he knew a lot of people picked him as a target because he looked completely helpless. Maybe if his shirt was to slip off by accident in P.E. at one point it might put some people off of attacking him in the future…

Shaking his head, he decided he’d bring it up with his mother later as he pulled on his hospital gown and headed out. It had completely slipped his mind by an hour later when he had another incident.

And this one was far more confusing and worrying. As his mother was talking about how she was considering the practicalities of getting a carpool for Izuku after school for his own sake, he turned to pick up the glass of water she had brought him from the cafeteria as Inko turned to dive into her bag to look up if her suggestion was possible, and then…

He missed the green spark on his body but he certainly didn’t miss how all of a sudden, the water seemed to lose its gravity as it all rose out the plastic cup. His eyes widened as he took it in, the liquid moving slowly in the air…

Then it suddenly dropped and his mother continued on. “It should be possible with my company’s job plan if I explain the circumstances. Maybe I could… Izuku? Are you okay?”

He was shaken out of his shock by her voice and looked over, where his mother was looking at him and his plastic cup confused. Either she missed it or… no, he was probably just seeing things from having just woken up from a long coma. There was nothing to worry about.

“S-Sorry, got distracted. I’m fine.” He assured, immediately. He could tell her about the hallucination but… it had been two months, and he didn’t want his mother to keep stressing. She probably would feel better with him home as soon as possible and they would probably pass soon anyways, right?

So he kept quiet, even when later doctor Horikoshi came back to do the tests he mentioned, which fortunately only took about an hour and a half overall.

Following that, and some final conversations with his mother before she had no choice but to go home for the night, Izuku had finally gone to bed, fortunately without any more incidents.

‘Definitely just a hallucination…’ He’d thought to himself as he drifted off into the land of sleep, surprised by how easy it was despite his long rest to pass out again.

He didn’t remember much about his dreams when he woke up, other than that there had been a lot of purple lightning.

Finally, a few hours into the day, after a few final check-ups from doctor Horikoshi, Izuku’s mother had arrived with actual clothes for him which he’d happily changed into and they’d finally set off on their way as he was discharged from the hospital.

He was smiling despite himself the whole way, happy to be getting out as they got near to the reception area, and that’s when the third incident happened…

As they’d been halfway through reception, Inko ranting away quietly about a villain who had held her and many others up on the way to the hospital, there had been a buzzing in Izuku’s ear.

“And honestly, what kind of name is Smashy?! I meeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn-“

Izuku blinked as his mother’s voice became completely slurred and the world slowed. The people in the chairs seemed to freeze completely, the people walking were barely inching forward trying to take a single step forward.

His eyes darted towards a woman pouring coffee into a mug, the liquid practically frozen in mid-air, hanging there as Izuku looked around confused. Everything was so slow and yet…

He was still the same speed as before?

Then just as suddenly as it had started it stopped it and everything went back to normal.

“-It’s like you’re just begging for people to not take you seriously.” Inko tutted, before noticing the look on Izuku’s face. “Son? Are you alright?”

“Y-Yeah, I’m f-fine.” He nodded, shaking his head. It was just a hallucination. Just a hallucination… “C-Can we w-walk home instead of g-getting a taxi? I f-feel like I could do w-with some fresh air…”

“Oh, well of course!” His mother nodded with a sweet smile. “Whatever you need sweetie.”

Izuku muttered a thanks and they walked out into the street, the cold air hitting Izuku’s face and making him let out a quiet sigh of relief as he sucked it in.

Yeah, this was exactly what he needed! He’d feel better soon now.

And for most of the walk, he did, he really believed he’d gotten past it near the end.

And then while crossing the street there’d been a blaring horn that made him jump and the buzzing had come back as he whirled around, seeing the world moving in slow motion again it seemed like.

There was a massive truck incoming, and behind him and his mother was a mother who had accidentally let go of the stroller that her child was in. The pram was barely moving in Izuku’s current vision while the truck was closing in very slowly and the mother was practically frozen with a look of horror on her face and Izuku quickly grabbed the pram and pulled it to him just in time for the world to turn back to normal and the truck to zoom off ahead.

“Oh my god! Thank you!” The mother cried in worry as she hurried over, dropping down to check on her child while Izuku’s own mother stared in shock. Izuku nodded absently as his mouth dried and then… he walked away as quick as he could, staring at his hands as his breathing became ragged and uneven.

What the hell?! It… it was just a coincidence! It was just a hallucination! The doctor said he didn’t have a quirk, he couldn’t have a quirk, there was no way-

His hands started vibrating wildly as his own body shook with panic, but his hands… his hands were moving far too fast, they were just blurry shapes and Izuku’s eyes widened

“What the hell?!” he muttered as his breathing got worse, not even realizing as he stumbled into his apartment building’s parking lot, his mother running for him and shouting after him.

Then, finally, the straw that broke the camel’s back came along in the form of a worried cry.

“HONEY WATCH OUT!” A woman cried out, causing Izuku to look up just in time to see a short black haired man at the balcony his apartment was on.

“Wh-AHHH!”

And the man backed up too far, some kind of wire in his hands he must have been to loosen or something as he ended up toppling over the edge. There was a scream from his mother who saw it and whoever was up above…

And as the world slowed once more with the man having already fallen one floor down, Izuku, despite having the opportunity to, didn’t think at all. Not even for a second did he consider his actions before he started running.

Flights of stairs passed in a blur, he was on the balcony and his hand was outstretched. It grabbed the man by his shirt and quickly pulled him onto the balcony, both falling to the ground and groaning.

The man because of the sudden crash and Izuku because he ran into the wall pulling the man back in. He barely noticed the few little crackles of green electricity fading from his body.

He slid down the wall with a sigh and looked to the man. Despite how much his brain was freaking out, he managed to ignore his immense confusion for the moment. “Hey, a-are you okay?”

“Y-Yeah…” The man breathed, his wide eyes betraying his shock. “Thank you.”

Izuku just nodded as he leaned back against the wall and let out a shaky breath. He barely registered thundering footsteps, looking up to his mother’s worried and stunned face.

Neither did he register the man beside him’s resemblance to the girl who had been there when he’d woken up the night before, but that was far from his mind at the moment as he met his mother’s eye.

The lightning had changed more than any of them realized…

* * *

Inko stared at Izuku, who stared back and blinked.

“You… ran at super speed.” She muttered, disbelievingly as she digested the information. About an hour had passed and after everyone had made sure they weren’t injured they were all back in their own houses. Izuku hadn’t realized the man he had saved was his next door neighbour. “You turned into lightning and ran at super speed…”

Apparently, according to his mother, all she saw when he’d run off had been a trail of green lightning taking off that she’d only seen for a second. A second incidentally was how long it took for Izuku to get to the man and pull him back in.

So he had definitely moved at super speed, there was no doubt about that much. He couldn’t help smiling for a moment. He had super speed… he really had a super ability.

And he had just thought he was going crazy before but he wasn’t!

However, his smile dropped with his mother’s next words.

“Right, I’m calling the doctor-“

“N-No!” He immediately stood up, surprising his mother. “I m-mean you s-shouldn’t bother them s-so soon…”

“Bother? Izuku, it’s their job! And this is important!” She pointed out, reaching for the phone again and before Izuku knew what he was doing he ran at it, grabbing it and running head first into the wall making him yelp out in pain as he stumbled back. “Izuku! Are you alright?!”

“I’m f-fine but please d-don’t call the doctors!” He practically pleaded, looking into her confused eyes.

“…Izuku, I  _ need _ to call them! It’s important-“

“Please!” He begged, only to see his mother scowl a tad.

“Izuku! You already got hurt once, I’m not letting you get hurt again-“

“But they haven’t hurt me! The powers haven’t hurt me yet a-and if y-you call the doctors t-then they might d-decide its because of the l-lightning and t-take it away and-and-and-“ his voice choked as it turned shaky. “A-And p-please! Don’t t-take t-this away f-from me when I’ve only j-just got it! T-This is w-what I’ve w-wanted! P-Please don’t…. please…”

Inko softened as her son let out a choked sob and she grit her teeth before silently walking forward and hugging him tight. “I don’t like this…”

“B-But-“

“But, I can’t stand seeing you get hurt either. Emotionally as much as physically. So… fine, I won’t call the doctors for now.” She declared and Izuku sighed in relief, until seeing her hardened gaze. “But if I think for even a second they are going to hurt you, I’m taking you right to the doctors. No ifs, ands or buts. Understood?”

“Yes m-mom.” He sighed and nodded, before smiling with a disbelieving look in his eyes as he tried to let it settle in.

He’d run at super speed. Hell he’d just run at super speed again.

He had a power! An actual power!

And though neither knew it, Inko’s decision in that moment wasn’t just the best decision she could have made for Izuku, but all of Musutafu.

Because it would be only a short two weeks before the first mention of the Bolt saving people in Musutafu. Before that though, Izuku's eyes sparkled as he realized something he never thought he’d get to do.

It was time to train his very own quirk!


	3. Can't take the leap...

The past two months had been stressful for Yui. There was the obvious ever present worry about Izuku once he was put into the coma and yet, the times when she visited him in hospital seemed to be the most relaxed times in her life at the moment.

At home, everything was more or less fine but her parents could be hectic, especially her father who was always coming home excited about some new gadget or other trinket he’d inevitably break or almost kill himself with.

And watching him constantly mess about with things like drills and almost taking his eye out was surely going to take years off her life, as were the police visits after the story about what had happened with Izuku had gotten out.

They were investigating the incident of course, and Yui had barely even processed that it needed to be investigated as she’d spent too much time fretting over Izuku for it to cross her mind.

She’d given them all the information she could and hoped for the best but she was honestly doubtful anything would happen. She knew Bakugou was protected by Aldera, who were so excited for their ‘perfect hero course student’ that they’d deflect every single claim and probably try and find a way to make Izuku take the blame for it.

That was if the police even investigated it properly instead of deciding that it wasn’t worth their time cause the victim was someone quirkless. It was infuriating to know that despite her want for Izuku to get justice, she was far more expectant of him getting none.

As for at school, that was the most stressful. She had been pretty much forced into coming out of her shell more than she wanted to, to go to classroom’s she’d never been to, fight panic attacks to knock on the door and explain she was there to pick up Midoriya’s work.

The real stressful moments had been with the teachers who either automatically assumed Izuku was being a troublemaker for no reason but prejudice, making her need to try to calm herself or when one even refused and tried to justify that it was Izuku’s fault and he could suffer the consequences.

Yui had gotten into her first ever fight with a teacher that day and a part of her still froze, shrivelled up and died at the horror of knowing she had ended up arguing back to a teacher, even if they were an undeniable asshole.

She needed to get her mind off of that before she got all panicked remembering it though, so she instead turned her mind to the day she had gone with Izuku to the hospital. There had been a horrible few hours of them getting everything set up for Izuku and some panic over some interesting anomalies happening when he was given a room, but for the most part eventually Yui just found herself sitting and watching over him protectively while wishing for him to get better.

She wasn’t sure when Inko Midoriya had arrived, but she’d been alerted to the older woman by a small gasp of horror and she’d looked up to see the woman staring at her son with scared, heartbroken eyes as she had shakily stepped in and examined him. It was only after a few moments she had turned and realized Yui was there.

“Oh um…. Hello. You must be the girl they said came in as ‘family’?” She asked, raising a brow curiously. Yui went red.

“Sorry. Didn’t want to leave him.” She explained simply and quietly, worried the woman would be angry with her actions. Instead, however, she got a soft smile.

“That’s…. nice. It’s nice to know that someone was looking out for him. Do you know him? You look a bit familiar…” Inko pondered, coming over and sitting down beside her while keeping a watchful eye on her son.

“Mm.” she nodded, biting her lip a tad. “Go to the same school.”

Inko looked worried for a moment, opening her mouth. “Ah, and you um.... you don’t-“

“I hate the way other people treat him.” Yui said simply but with an air of finality to her tone to assure the woman she didn’t mean any harm to Izuku. She was kind of surprised with herself to be honest, as this was the first conversation she’d ever had outside of ones with her parents where she had said a few sentences and it hadn’t blown up in her face. The older woman sighed in relief. “I sometimes leave bandages and stuff for him.”

“That is good to hear.” Inko sighed sadly. “I want to move, get him out of that school but his father is insistent on him staying there… and no one seems to care about him just because, because…”

“It’s horrible.” Yui nodded in understanding. Inko looked at her as if she expected her to leave but Yui didn’t budge.

“I won’t keep you. The doctors already have the account of what happened, so you don’t need to stay.” She said quietly. Yui planted herself firmly into her seat and spoke up almost in a whisper.

“I want to stay.” She said shyly, her face turning a bit red. Inko blinked before smiling very kindly.

“Well, I suppose I can’t deny ‘family’ from visiting.” She said with good humour, although the shakiness in her voice betrayed how it was nothing but a coping mechanism as she did her best not to freak out in front of the girl. “I won’t tell them you’re not his cousin or whatever you said to them to let you in, just promise me you’ll keep being nice to him after this.”

“I promise.” Yui said without hesitating. Her only wish, left unspoken, was that she could be  _ nicer  _ to him going forward by actually talking to him. Following their meeting, Yui came by every day, only taking responsibility for his schoolwork two weeks in when they realized the coma would not be a short affair even slightly.

Inko had assured her the first couple of days she didn’t  _ need _ to come in but Yui had insisted and slowly, something about Inko had changed not that Yui had noticed for a while. Her small smiles turned more into grins, her eyes got a twinkle the longer time went on and she began to talk more and more about the potential things Izuku and Yui could do when he woke up instead of just what he might do.

It had been something Yui had eventually asked the woman about when she’d started bringing the homework for Izuku, curious why Inko’s behaviour seemed more… coy as time went on. Her answer had been both incredibly vague and yet also very embarrassing for poor shy Yui.

“ _ I see the look in your eyes when you look at him and talk about him. I remember when I had a look like that. I’m sure you’ll be great… friends when he wakes up. _ ” Inko had giggled, winking before she had left.

Yui had been red-faced for a long time after that as she internally panicked about the possibility she had figured out her crush, not even stopping to realize that if she had she was fully supportive based on her words.

And she-

Izuku suddenly turned in his sleep before her, making her eyes go wide. She was in the hospital as always, in a blue blouse and black leggings having been spending some time just watching him while she had been remembering all that had happened.

Oh god, was this finally it!? What if she messed up!? What if she said something wrong and made him hate her right away? What if he thought she was someone responsible for hurting him somehow?! Maybe he’d-

She failed to notice his eyes open and was only forced out of her panic attack by the boy suddenly shooting straight up in bed. Her brain was going blank as it practically fried itself yet some words did at least manage to escape her.

“Oh uh… hang on, please try to be calm.”

Oh great, her first words to him were going to be completely hypocritical cause she was anything but calm! Was she talking to herself as well?! Her face locked into a single expression as screams of panic tore through her mind.

“W-Where am I?” He asked confused yet seemingly with no real panic, yet he still sounded small, fitting in with how cute and sweet he looked- She needed to focus on anything else if she didn’t want to begin hyperventilating!

“In a hospital.” She managed to get out. What now?! Did she tell him who she was?! Did she explain they were classmates now? Or neighbours?! Did she tell him she wanted to be friends yet or was this something to wait for. She had to say something though, she had to tell him  _ something!  _ “You should lie back down for the moment. I will get a doctor.”

…

God she hated herself sometimes.

“U-Uh, who a-are you?” He asked quietly, tilting his head confused. He’d given her a second chance! ‘Just collect yourself, Yui. Calm, deep breath and tell him calmly exactly who you are and why you’re here.’

“Oh… Yui Kodai, I found you.” She said, her eyes imperceptibly growing as she growled internally at herself. She meant to tell him more than that! Why couldn’t she do this!? Just talk to him! You were talking now- Oh god they were talking now and she probably just sounded like a weirdo and would she be even worse when she began talking properly to him!?”

“O-Oh… t-thank you f-for taking me in then.”

Yui panicked and felt her heart lurch. She had to deal with this but all her anxiety came piling on hard! She shouldn’t run, she shouldn’t run, she shouldn’t-

“Mm.”

And she turned and she ran. Her throat tightened and she felt a stinging in the back of her eyes that she did her best to ignore. She passed Inko in the cafeteria and put on her best poker face. “Izuku’s awake.”

And off the woman had shot with so much speed you’d have thought it was her quirk, while Yui had quickly hurried out the door and walked into a back alley, collapsing against the wall.

And then she sobbed. And she sobbed and she sobbed, for god knows how long as she gripped her leggings tight and yelled at herself mentally every insult she could think of, hating how she’d completely failed to talk to him when he’d been right there.

Their first conversation and she botched it so bad! She was an idiot! He’d probably be too freaked out to speak with her again…

Shaking her head, she snarled. No! She had kept doing this! She kept running but he knew she existed for sure now!

And she’d have to bring him all his homework, so she could fix it then, really talk to him!

With that resolve, she’d hurried home, determined to get there as soon as possible, mainly so people in public didn’t see her and theorize about why the ‘little girl’ had been crying. The only thing that slowed her down had been some manic protestor in the main park in the city she had to walk through to get home, shouting up a storm to all passers-by.

“WE ALL KNOW THEY EXIST! YET THE POLICE AND THE PROS STAND BY AND DO SOMETHING! WE MUST STAND UP! WHO WILL BE NEXT?! YOUR HUSBAND, YOUR WIFE?! YOUR MOTHER OR YOUR CHILD?! IT COULD BE ANYONE OF US!” The protestor had been screaming hysterically. Yui had just avoided eye contact and continued on. The last thing she wanted to think about was the conspiracy theory about a dark villainous gang hidden within their city. It was the last thing she needed to think about right now. The quiet girl didn’t spare said group another thought all the way home once she got out the park.

After a somewhat tense dinner as Yui refused to tell her parents why her eyes were all red, she had gone to her room, played on her laptop for a while and gone to sleep, ignoring the single All Might poster on the wall at the bottom of her bed proclaiming ‘You can do it!’ which felt like it was taunting her. The rest of the room was also filled with plenty of hero merchandise, such as posters of the Wild Wild Pussycats all over along with Ryukyu, Edgeshot and even some lesser known heroes like Phantom Shade, Heatwave, Queen Wolf and Sandy. Last but not least was her personal idol as a child, Tomato Gal.

She at least managed to fall asleep feeling safe with so many pro heroes looking down at her. A part of her despite the awkwardness couldn’t help but smile at the fanaticism she and Izuku shared, if in different ways.

The next day, she had gotten a text from Inko, who had insisted on getting the girls number at the end of the first month, alerting her that Izuku was being taken out the hospital and when the raven haired girl had inquired why Inko had sent the address Inko had just send a laughing emoji and said she knew Yui wouldn’t need it.

That made the girl feel embarrassed for sure, the older woman had figured out where she recognized Yui from them. Apparently she’d be bringing him home around the afternoon so the girl considered bringing the textbooks tomorrow then so that Izuku could have a good few hours to just get used to being home first.

As for herself, she hadn’t much to do at all as she was excused from school this particular day to attend an event with her family in the morning, a wedding between her auntie Uraraka and her girlfriend she had been dating for the past three years.

The reception had been over by the time Izuku would have presumably been on his way home, but as far as Yui had been able to see, he wasn’t home when her family got back to their apartment and her dad, Reo Kodai, had immediately gotten to work on setting up a gift her auntie Uraraka had shoved off onto him from a less thoughtful gift. Yui wasn’t even really sure what it was beyond knowing it was somewhat bulky and had a very wound up and badly packaged wire.

She’d not really paid attention to her parents bickering over it as she watched her and her mother’s favourite sit-com, so she’d been very caught off-guard when her mother had suddenly screamed and the girl looked up just in time for her ever stoic face to change into one of horror as she realized the wire was falling over the edge of the outer balcony as her father also assuredly have.

Her mind and heart raced as she rushed over, scared about what she’d see yet being both relieved and confused when he wasn’t there. There was no way he could save himself with his Extension quirk if he couldn’t touch the balcony’s and none of them looked like their dimensions had changed. She then heard his groaning on the balcony below and immediately sprinted for him.

Once she got down the stairs however, the rounded the corner and spotted Izuku before instantly stepping back as instinct overwhelmed her and she hid, her mother shooting past. A pair of urgent footsteps behind her made her turn to see a confused and worried Inko Midoriya rushing for Izuku as well.

She heard both man and teenager being fussed over and, too scared to step out and face Izuku yet with zero preparation, she instead ran back up the stairs and headed for her apartment to get ice and a first aid kit for her father and whatever else he might need.

She ran into her room and went for her emergency box. It was a child’s toy building block that had the top cut out, and was made much bigger by her father’s quirk to allow stuff to be stored in it that might be needed in an emergency. She of course had gotten it when she was quite small.

His quirk, Extension, allowed him to manipulate the dimensions of any object merely by looking at them and focusing on changing the desired dimensions, though it was entirely reliant on his own measurements so he could easily make things far too big or wide and destroy the structural integrity of them, especially as they never got any heavier despite the size change. If the box before her was any bigger it would float away if there wasn’t stuff in it.

Combine that with her mother’s quirk, Weight, which allowed her to make anything she touched with all five fingers either heavier or lighter, at the cost of the weight being absorbed or taken away from her mother’s own body and you got Yui’s quirk size.

And now she was pulling an Izuku and going off on a quirk rant in her head to stop her panicking! She had to get back to preparing all this, as she heard her mother bring her father in.

Once they’d confirmed he was really okay and had no more than a small bump from crashing onto the balcony below, her mother, Yuma Kodai, went ballistic on him shouting at him not to worry them like that while Yui just hugged him in relief he was okay, Izuku was forgotten for the moment as she just was happy they were okay.

But when she’d eventually gone back to her room, going onto HeroTube, a Youtube knock off meant solely for hero videos, she couldn’t help but get distracted while watching videos of her old idol Tomato Gal, wondering just how on earth Izuku had saved her father.

Because that was the only explanation for how the man hadn’t splatted against the far below ground, Izuku must have saved him. The question was  _ how? _ If Izuku was quirkless, how could he have possibly had the reaction time to catch her father? For that matter what was he doing on the balcony alone one floor below his house?

There was something just not adding up there for her. Maybe, just maybe, she could bring herself to ask when she finally brought the homework?

She should have known by now that wasn’t how her anxiety rolled. Fortunately, she had managed to bring the homework to the Midoriya house and when there had been a call to come in she had taken it, stepping into the apartment for the first and hopefully not last time of her life, taking it all in.

It was a cosy little place that almost looked like her house in reverse, but with wildly different colours, green and soft purple being the main colour placed against the white walls. Her own apartment had vibrant red walls with soft yellow and orange furniture around the place, giving a warm feeling inside it. The Midoriya apartment was more cool in its shades yet homely and warm all the same.

“Mrs. Midoriya. I brought Izuku’s homework.” Yui managed to force out in an even voice as she held up the bag with the work, making the woman looking over from the couch smile as she stood up.

“Oh, thank you dear! Just put it on the table there.” She instructed and Yui followed, just in time to see Izuku appearing from the hall curious. She had to fight the urge to turn and bolt, feeling her face already heating up a tad as she nodded her head at him.

She opened her mouth, a part of her wanting to say ‘hello neighbour’, feeling that would be a good opening line. Instead what came out was…

“Mm. You’re up.” She stated painfully obviously, feeling like an idiot even as she said it. A part of her screeching in frustration she bowed and turned. “Good day.”

Inko frowned but didn’t say anything even as she let out a sigh and Izuku let out a confused goodbye. Yui really wanted to turn back, say something proper, talk to him but she felt she’d already blown it for today, even a rational part of her knew that wasn’t true. She knew she was just being a scaredy-cat cause she didn’t want to mess up, yet convincing her body to stop it was proving a losing battle so far-

“IZUKU!” Inko’s sudden shout got Yui to turn and she saw Izuku was standing all the way on the other end of the room with his homework in hand. But how had he gotten over there so fast? There would have been no time in the short span of time she was turned around to get that far with all that without her hearing. “Don’t do that! You’ll give me a heart attack!”

“S-Sorry…” Izuku said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. Maybe he’d leapt over the couch or something? It was the only explanation that came to mind…

Spotting her, Izuku let out a small nervous squeak and turned away as his face went more red in embarrassment and for the first time, Yui managed a small smile while he was looking at her, his face going redder.

One thing that had never really properly occurred to her, Izuku was just as nervous and as shy as he was. Oh sure it had ‘occurred’ to her in ways where it involved him running from her but for the first time she realized with a small start he’d probably be just as nervous about talking to her.

And she felt just a tad more confident as she left. Maybe, just maybe, if she could find excuses to actually keep getting near him maybe she’d finally work up the confidence to talk to him…

She didn’t go to his apartment for the next week following that, feeling far too nervous despite her plan. It was pretty much exactly a week and a half after she had made the plan she hadn’t followed through with at all that she ended up finally going to his house again.

The reason? When she’d been on her way home from school, she’d passed by the very same grocery store she’d gone to the day she’d taken Izuku to hospital only to see police there talking to the owner, with two villains tied up on the ground.

Being the hero nerd that she secretly was, it had been impossible to resist the temptation to sneak closer and listen when she’d heard the word vigilante come up from one of the officers.

“I suppose it’s possible.” The owner said, sounding mostly bewildered. “I mean, like a told ya, one second the tall one’s waving a gun in my face, I think I’m gonna die and no heroes anywhere in sight. Hell, still no heroes, do you see any around? Freakin’ some protectors… anyways, like I said, there was a sudden really bright trail of green coloured lightning or something and next thing I knew the guns were in the bin and the two villains there were knocked out and tied up to the freezer section.”

Well, that certainly sounded strange…

“And was there anyone else in the store when this happened?” One of the officers had asked, jotting down what he was being told in a notepad.

“Well there had been this green haired kid, just before the villains came in but he was gone.” Yui blinked. Green hair? …No, it was surely coincidence… “I reckon he musta run as soon as he realized a stick up was happening, ya know? Don’t blame ‘im, he was probably scared outta his mind.”

Okay, definitely not Izuku then. If she knew one thing about the boy, it was that he didn’t run from fights, no matter how much he probably should have. In fact she’d admit it seemed he ran into fights a lot, just never from them when someone was in trouble.

It was one of the reasons Yui had fallen for him while watching him from the sidelines. One of the big reasons, as well.

With a sigh, she took off on her way. Green lightning certainly had her curious though. A vigilante who might have had involvement with green lightning? Maybe they had been around when Izuku had been hit.

Maybe they had been what had hit Izuku! It was that thought that had her running to the Midoriya’s.

She had knocked on the door as urgently as possible and walked in to find the two on the couch, looking confused. She had to take a deep calming breath with Izuku there just to speak but speak she did, explaining she might now have a theory on what had hit Izuku.

That had gotten the two to sit up fast. Doing her best not to look at the boy to not be deterred, she had told them what had happened on her way home and she vaguely noticed Inko was keeping one eye on Izuku at all times as though suspicious.

Maybe he was there? She noted on the way out that Izuku looked almost sheepish, as though he was guilty. Surely that couldn’t be it though, right?

Right?

* * *

A few weeks (and several attempts to talk to Izuku that all failed due to her own nervousness) later and the lightning had been seen a few more times, some even claiming to have seen someone with a green suit appearing in the lightning. Always in situations where it seemed no heroes were around to really do anything, though this was getting more and more debatable as time went on and the situations began to seem less likely they were completely out the realm of pro heroes intervening.

Then finally, Yui got to meet the Bolt, as local hero forums had taken to calling the rumoured vigilante. Not everyone believed they existed because surely no vigilante with that kind of power would stay in hiding or even be a vigilante when they could probably easily become a pro hero.

Yui was sure they did exist, she couldn’t see any reason for the grocery store cashier to lie about the vigilante existing which merely raised the question of why?

That, she had no idea of. She hadn’t realized, almost another two months were she and Izuku were finally on basic speaking terms but had still never really held a proper conversation, that she’d be getting answers soon.

It had started with her newest attempt to talk and it was arguably one of her most successful, even if she didn’t get past the Midoriya’s front door. She had stood at it for over an hour with pure determination though, refusing to let her brain scare her into actively running away even if worries coursed through her mind every single time she raised her fist to knock on the door, until finally she was rescued (or condemned) by the bell.

Her mother had called out to her, asking her if she could go out and get groceries again while her father was at work and her mother was cooking. Yui had taken off with a sigh, ignoring the self-loathing over her inability to handle one simple conversation.

That’s what troubled her the most. It would only take one conversation to get the truth out and have it done, yet her brain betrayed her at every turn. She knew it wasn’t normal, but it was also unfortunately part of her and it was liable to drive her nuts.

She had quietly accepted that she was her own worst enemy and had left to go get the groceries. The shopping itself had at least been decently relaxing and a good way to get her brain to wind down and stop freaking out.

What had been less good for it was the man who started stalking her once she left the shop, joined by another friend. She thought it odd he didn’t leave until she did but assumed coincidence at first, until she had turned two different corners and he was still following her, a friend having joined him. A friend with similar dress sense.

She gulped and turned a corner, taking a diversion. It would go back on itself, so no one would take it coming from where she had just come from unless they didn’t know the place or….

She felt her heart start beating rapidly in her chest when they followed her into the street, and spotted a man also in similar clothing coming from the other way and without a second thought ran into the alley nearby hoping to shake them off.

She heard footsteps running behind her which really began to freak her out as she twisted and turned and then… she found the last thing she wanted to see, a big stone wall.

“Well, guess the pretty face doesn’t mean she’s a dumb one.” A cold voice sneered behind her and she turned to see five men had arrived, all with similar sneering expressions and a few activating quirks while others pulled out weapons. “Don’t worry girly, we won’t hurt you… if you hand over all the yen you got. Must have a lot to get that much stuff in the bags.”

Yui had taken a step back, looking around for a way to fight back. She didn’t see anything she could throw at them and she had taken the first coat she had found in a rush to escape, not taking her usual coat which she kept lined up with small trinkets to be safe but one of her mom’s old coats that had nothing but empty pockets. She’d used all the yen anyways. She had nothing to give them!

She supposed she could use the groceries but…

“Aww, she’s too scared to speak. Mind you, she could make herself look it at least.” The ringleader, a bald and skinny man said as he stepped forward, having pulled a baseball bat out from… somewhere and now smacking it against his hands. There was a large fat man with shaggy black hair on his right and a short but vicious looking man with dog mutations even further right. On the left was a gangly looking villain with rotten teeth and dark green eyes, and a small patch of grey hair on his head. Finally the furthest left villain looked the most like a general teenager, with brown spiky hair and a bored glazed expression, looking exceptionally plain.

Except when she locked eyes with the last one she found that even when she did try to finally speak up, she couldn’t. One of them, probably the one she locked eyes with as his pupils were unnaturally bright.

Was this really about to happen? Was she really about to get into a fight with five villains? If she couldn’t shout no hero was coming unless-

Almost as if by a thought, there was a sudden rushing of wind and suddenly, a sixth figure stood behind the man. Short, he was… Izuku’s height? In clothes clearly meant for users of fire quirks that looked far too baggy on his spray painted dark green, a crudely attached neon lightning sticker on the chest and with a firefighter's helmet on covering their face, which was vibrating underneath the glass presumably to hide their identity was standing there.

Yui blinked twice.  _ That _ was Bolt?!

Then he said something, in a very distorted voice, that accidentally gave away the truth.

“ **GET AWAY FROM KODAI** !”


	4. Bolt

“Ready Izuku?!” Inko’s voice called from the sidelines of the runway Izuku stood on. He wasn’t entirely sure exactly how his mother had pulled this off, but by asking around with her old friends from school, she’d managed to get them access into an old abandoned runway in Musutafu that was typically locked off from the public.

No one was here to look after it, as there was a new airport on the other side of town opened up last year, leaving this one to be left to ruin. Izuku wondered if that was even legal. He wouldn’t be surprised if there was some secretive hero group or villain group preserving it for some reason, but at the moment, that was neither here nor there.

As far as they knew, it was abandoned and they only needed it for a few hours, as it was completely cut off from view from the rest of Musutafu due to the fence covering it.

That would give Izuku the ability to use his ‘Quirk’ without being seen to get some practice in, which his mother at least did agree if he had powers now he needed to know how to actually use them. It was weird to see his mother help anyone, let alone him, break the quirk law but he supposed these were extenuating circumstances.

“Ready!” He called back, getting into a sprinting position he’d learned in P.E. They’d gone to the longest runway which was over three miles long at least by Izuku’s estimate. His mother held a stop watch prepared to time him.

They had a few hours, and all they were going to do was simply have him run laps around a few things so he could get used to his power and maybe determine his top speed. his mother had been quite insistent that was it.

Izuku was ready, and he felt a tingle inside him as he… didn’t call on his speed. No, it was more like he let go of the hold he had on it, no more holding himself back but going at what felt like a ‘normal’ speed now, not hearing the small crackle of green electricity on him.

“NOW!”

And he ran. There was a loud crash as several lights broke from the pressure of his take off and his mother let out a shriek as she was almost thrown off her feet from the wind that was kicked up.

He’d already gotten a quarter of the way across the runaway when that had happened, by his estimate only seven seconds having passed. He could barely keep his thoughts organized though, as he barrelled forward, wind whipping past his face violently until suddenly it wasn’t, almost as though something was keeping his path clear that he couldn’t see.

His vision was odd, it was half blurry shapes that one would expect at this speed yet also clear cut shapes at the same time, as though his brain was speeding up and letting him see this in normal speed.

Thoughts barrelled past his brain even faster than he was running as millions of ideas and theories formed and- OH SHIT THERE WAS THE END BRAKE!

He ran face first into the fence with a loud THUD before falling backwards with a groan of pain. Looking back he shook his head and pushed up, seeing the vague shape of his mother in the distance who was probably worried.

He didn’t waste a second pushing back up and running as fast as he could manage back to her, paying attention this time and slowing down as he neared, fortunately finding his braking was just as fast as his acceleration.

Unfortunately, he didn’t yet know that and so even though he could have landed smoothly he overcorrected and the end and his eyes went wide as he barrelled forward right into the tarmac, rolling along it as his mother shouted in shock.

“Izuku! Izuku are you okay?!”

“I’m fine…” He groaned, pushing up and getting his teeth as he turned to her. “Just-“

“Bleeding!”

“Huh?” He looked down and saw his arm had been busted open. He frowned and hoped his mom wouldn’t make a big deal out of it but before he looked up suddenly, to both their shock, the wound noticeably closed up.

Izuku blinked in shock before looking up at his mother.

“…The doctors… they said that you… your injuries healed after the lightning hit you. That…” Inko was quiet as she said this aloud, almost more as if she was thinking to herself then explaining to Izuku, who had begun to chuckle. Inko frowned and raised a brow.

“I have speed healing.” He chuckled, grinning before it suddenly dropped and his eyes went wide as thoughts rapidly went by him before he settled on something and got on his feet with a stunned look. “I have speed healing…”

“Izuku?” Inko asked worriedly at his sudden change before his eyes lit up. “Is something wrong?”

“I just realized, I have speed healing and I can run fast. Fast running… And I managed to figure this out fast even for me! My thoughts are going so fast! Mom!” The woman jumped as Izuku suddenly came over to her with a massive grin. “I have super speed!”

“…” Inko sighed. “I think you hit your head too hard.”

“N-No! I mean I know I have superfast running speed, but I mean that I have super speed in general. As in, everything that can be fast is fast! My thoughts, my healing, my thoughts, my perception- That’s what the hallucinations were!”

“Hallucinations?!” His mother asked worried.

“Well, not hallucinations. I thought they were hallucinations at first but I didn’t want to stay in the hospital.”

“Izuku! You should have said something! You could have been really hurt if they were hallucinations!” The boy at least had the presence of mind to look sheepish.

“S-Sorry… but it wasn’t! I saw the world going super slow, so I thought it was a hallucination but time wasn’t slowing down, I was speeding up! It makes so much sense!” Izuku grinned manically. “If everything about me is going fast, then that includes a faster perception. If my perception is faster, the world is slower from my perspective.”

“I… suppose that makes sense.” Inko frowned. “Are you okay now? Does your arm hurt?”

“Huh? Oh, not really. It stopped aching immediately and it’s all fine now.” Izuku grinned. “So can we please keep going?! I want to try and find my full speed- Oh yeah how fast did I go? I was stumbling at the start and got distracted, plus I’m not used to this yet so it’s probably not my full speed.”

Inko blinked before pulling out her stopwatch and glancing at it. “Ah, eighteen seconds sweetie.”

“Nearly three hundred and fifty miles an hour.” Izuku chirped immediately before going wide eyed again and grinning. “Fast thoughts! Fast math!”

“You could already do maths fast.” Inko reminded him and he just chuckled.

“Yeah but that was immediate more or less! Ha! Super fast maths!” He cheered happily as he jumped back, buzzing with excitement. Inko couldn’t help her own smile even through her natural nervousness. Izuku had been robbed of the chance to have this excitement and experience years ago when he was diagnosed quirkless so it was something truly wonderful to get to see him enjoy himself now with these new abilities.

Enough that she even managed one of her (not-so-)rare snarky comments. “Well, at least now you have a quirk that can keep up with your mouth.”

“Yeah!” Izuku said excitedly, before pausing and playfully glaring at her. “Hey!”

“Not that fast then.” Inko giggled. He stuck out his tongue and as if to prove a point turned and ran as fast as he could, nearly knocking his mother over again.

He wasn’t even sure how fast he was going but he could feel something crackling around him protectively as he moved faster, faster,  _ faster _ .

He felt something form in the air around him, daring him to push past it, to go faster. His eyes went wide and despite the desire coursing in his very veins, calling him to the speed he knew he could reach…

He put on the breaks, stopping inches from the wall this time. He didn’t even have to ask his mother now to know roughly the speed he’d gone at. He’d seen the wind cones.

He’d gotten near to the speed of sound.

With a dazed grin, he turned and rushed back with a massive grin on his face, getting back in under twenty seconds to his mother, smiling up at her as she stared shocked at the pure speed he’d displayed.

Then the smell of burning reached him and he realized it wasn’t just the speed.

“IZUKU, YOU’RE ON FIRE!”

He went wide eyed as he looked down and smelt the burning of cloth as his shirt had caught on fire. “A-Ah!”

He quickly went to try to pat it out as did his mother and once it went out, the T-shirt now charred and ripped, they both sighed in relief. Izuku hummed with a frown. “Guess friction is a bit of an issue…”

Inko just looked at him and shook her head.

“...Okay… We’ll have to get you clothes that can handle it and get your new quirk registered fast…”

Izuku opened his mouth.

“If you make a superspeed pun right now I’m going to ground you for the next month.”

He wisely kept his mouth shut.

* * *

He hadn’t meant to start the vigilantism. He was firm on that point.

Yes, he wanted to be a hero.

Yes, he had a helping people thing.

Yes, even when that person was terrible to him, if he saw someone who needed help, he always responded to it.

Yes, with his speed he’d inevitably be in a situation where he could help much faster and anyone else and have to deal with that.

He still didn’t put two and two together for quite a while. His mother had first, a week after he’d got out of hospital. They’d been walking home from the grocery store together, Inko not wanting to send her son alone on errands yet, and they had heard the commotion before they had seen it.

A get-away, with villains driving off in a car, heroes trying their damnedest to keep up but trailing behind. Izuku barely had time to register what he was seeing before a hand gripped his arm firmly.

“Izuku, no! You are not a pro, and they are on it. You are not putting yourself in danger for something others are already handling.” She chastised and Izuku had gone red faced and quietly apologized.

But it didn’t last.

It was never going to last. Izuku helped people when they needed it, that was in his nature.

And of course, soon enough, with a lot of convincing on his part, his mother had let him pick up groceries on his own again. The first two times were uneventful, but the third…

He’d been bent over at the back of the store, picking up the final item on the list he needed, milk, when the bell the store had installed went off. Izuku didn’t pay any mind to it at first while he determined whether it was skimmed, semi-skimmed or whole milk he liked. He could never remember the difference. Honestly, he wasn’t convinced they didn’t taste the same and the names just tricked people.

Then he’d heard a gruff voice. “Don’t even think of calling the police or your guts will paint the wall long before they get here. Open the register, now.”

Well, to put it mildly, that wasn’t good.

He quickly took refuge behind one of the aisles to avoid being seen and leaned out very gently, to see two men. They didn’t look to be the brightest criminals, both focused on the cashier and not looking for witnesses or heroes.

Their masks were crude domino masks that would likely do nothing to actually hide their identities once an investigation was launched, and neither seemed to have powerful quirks as far as he could tell.

The one who made the threat, who was the skinnier of the two, was pointing a gun at the cashier and his free hand revealed he likely only had a very basic claw quirk.

The other villain was… a laughing stock, quite frankly. The more rotund of the two, with a bald patch, Izuku noticed all the cheese in the store was floating with his presence.

At least the one with the gun could do some decent damage with his claws but  _ cheese manipulation? _

Izuku was all for encouraging creative uses and pointing out how great all superpowers were, but at times like these even he could admit that was just embarrassing.

Still, he was only rambling on his mind about this because it was the only distraction he had from the robbers up front. He looked out the window. Heroes would be here any moment.

Except… there were none outside, in sight, at all.

He heard the shouted threats. He heard a whimper from the cashier that made him flinch, he heard the small pleadings and the harsh shut-downs they received

Five minutes later and the robbers had all the cash in their bag and no heroes had turned up still. Where were they?! Why were no heroes here?!

‘ **You are not putting yourself in danger for something others are already handling.** ’

His mother’s words ran through his head and though he knew he was deliberately taking them out of the context they were meant…

“Finally, fucking took long enough.”

“Shit, now we just need to get rid of him. I don’t think these disguises work like the boss told us they would.”

“What?! No, ya can’t! I did everything that ya asked for! Please!”

Izuku heard the cocking of the gun. Lightning burst off him as his eyes went wide.

“Don’t worry, we’ll lock the place up when we leave.”

“HELP!”

And Izuku  _ ran. _

__

He was in front of the group in a second, all of them in slow motion as Izuku wasted no time grabbing the gun first and forcibly moving it up the way out of danger. He went for the owner next, behind the counter in between seconds and pulling him down to the ground just in case.

Izuku knew he was fast but bullets were twice the speed of sound. He wasn’t sure he was fast enough to actually dodge them yet and he definitely couldn’t outrun them as far as he knew.

Maybe one day, but not at the moment and this moment was what mattered!

So he got the would-be victim out the way and went back to his normal speed for just a few seconds. The bang in the room was deafening and hurt Izuku’s ears but he went back to speeding right after, the threat of a bullet now safely out the way as he turned and jumped over the counter, sliding over it and grabbing both robbers feets, pulling them out from underneath both of them.

He took the gun while they were practically hovering in mid-air and ran over to the back of the store where he’d seen some hardware and managed to find a nice decent amount of rope. He stayed back and stood still, looking up to a tv in the corner of the room.

There was only one camera in the store and it kept an eye on the cashier but fortunately not the floor beneath so he likely wouldn’t have been seen on the CCTV.

Good for him, bad for the store. It was a good thing it was a pair of not so bright criminals who’d come causing problems, as they had managed to stay in the one spot with CCTV the whole time.

And speaking of the TV displaying it… he stopped, letting time go back to normal. For him, these events had all taken some time. Not a lot but some from his perspective but as the camera would show him…

There was a green flash on the screen then in real life in time with the criminals they suddenly tumbled around in mid-air and crashed into the ground.

Izuku chuckled and barely five seconds later he was out the door, his groceries in hand and his payment made in the form of two tied up criminals. He’d made sure the clawed one’s hands were bound. He thought stopping a store robbery was payment enough for milk, ice cream, some fish, and soda, which was all he’d gotten.

So, green lightning was what people saw while he was running. Interesting…

With a start, he realized that meant if he ran right now so long as no one spotted him start no one would know he’d broken the quirk law as they wouldn’t know he was the one running about.

His quirk registration was still waiting to be fully approved and it was only listed as Speed. Nothing else. Nothing that gave away exactly what he could do.

Oh what the hell, what was the point in being a late bloomer who was still a kid if you couldn’t enjoy your powers just a little?

With that thought he ducked into an alley and took off.

Four seconds later, he stood in the parking lot of his apartment and let out a satisfied hum, checking his groceries and smiling at seeing they were fine. As far as he could tell, his powers were still acclimatising to him.

That was his guess anyways. If he kept his speed under four hundred miles an hour for the moment, he and anything else he picked up would be protected by some kind of shield as far as he could tell. He didn’t understand it but it seemed to be dealing with the potential ramifications of his speed.

When he went over it though, at least at the moment, it seemed to stop being as effective, only protecting his immediate life.

He had a feeling this would change with time and practice and he might be able to more safely reach higher speeds, but that was just a feeling, not confirmed fact, so for the moment he kept to the safe speed he’d worked out and headed up stairs with a smile.

His mother had been happy to see him back, helping him put everything away and it had all been fine… for about half an hour. Then Kodai walked in.

He didn’t blame Kodai, there was no way she knew. In fact, he’d noticed she’d been around more and he felt there was something familiar about her, he just couldn’t tell what.

Logically, he knew it was probably just that they went to class together but that didn’t feel right…

Either way, he had only realized, stunned, a couple days ago that he’d actually managed to talk with the girl. The first girl other than his mom he’d really talked to, even if it was only for a brief few moments.

For him, that was a big achievement and it should have felt as such… Instead though, he felt more like it was something he should have been used to doing all the time.

It didn’t even excite him that much that he’d managed, though it did make him happy. These had been the thoughts running through his mind at the time until he actually heard what Kodai had said about a store robbery and a green haired witness…

He could feel his mother’s intense stare and knew he was in for it.

Once Kodai was gone…

“IZUKU HISASHI MIDORIYA! I TOLD YOU PRECISELY NOT TO DO THIS VERY THING AND WHAT DO YOU DO?! YOU GO AND RUN OFF INTO A DANGEROUS SITUATION WHERE YOU COULD HAVE GOT YOURSELF KILLED! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU WERE DOING?!”

Izuku had sat through it all while sinking into the couch in embarrassment. It had been a long time since he’d gotten an angry rant from his mother, who was very rarely angry, nowadays.

She probably wasn’t all that angry this time either as much as scared. Her words certainly seemed to be more about losing him then being mad at him.

“AND WHAT IF A HERO HAD SEEN YOU?!”

“T-They wouldn’t have… there were no heroes. That’s why I did mom! B-Because I didn’t have a chance! They were going to… going to…” he swallows. “The r-robber had a gun and he was going to pull it w-when there was no one else around. I couldn’t… I c-couldn’t just…”

His mother had softened considerably at that before sighing and pulling him into a hug. Somehow, he’d escaped punishment beyond losing the ‘privilege’ of being the one to get food from the store alone.

However, barely a day later, Inko had seemed to come to a surprising conclusion. Izuku had just been watching TV when, out of nowhere, she had spoken up a sentence that had completely thrown him.

“You can help people with your quirk.”

It had been so sudden that he’d almost dropped off the couch as he startled. “M-Mom?”

“Not all the time.” She said sternly, meeting his eye. “But… I know, no matter how much I want to protect you… I know you’re going to just run out and try and help anyways. On the condition that you _only_ do it if there is no other choice, you’re _never_ seen and you come back to me safe…”

Izuku stopped for a moment before nodding. “Thank you. Thank you… so, then… if you want me to n-never be seen… I need to be able to go full speed to h-have the least chance of injury. I… have an idea.”

Inko tilted her head confused and very suddenly there was a green flash and the front door was suddenly wide open. Another few seconds later and a green bolt went past her eyes suddenly and Izuku was sat on the couch, a firefighter's flame retardant plain green jumpsuit laid out before him as well as a helmet which had a mask and earmuffs.

“What’s all this?” Inko asked with a suspicious gaze. “And did you get it legally?”

“Well, it’s not  _ illegal _ to borrow a firefighter’s outfit from the station technically if they never know it’s gone. Same with the helmet. The earmuffs I just brought from a general quirk item store.” Izuku explained with a nervous chuckle and Inko just sighed. “S-Sorry….”

“I don’t understand how your mind works sometimes.”

“…I can’t give you answers; I don’t understand either.” Izuku shrugged before looking back down at his items. “Anyways, I was t-thinking. My sneakers are flame retardant thanks to them b-being from dad and the soles are durable so I shouldn’t have to change those out t-too much. The suit is flame retardant so the friction shouldn’t make it catch on fire, the helmet can hide my face if we tint the glass and the earmuffs are just in case I accidentally go supersonic. I don’t think I’ll hear the boom but better safe than sorry.”

“…So your masterplan to avoid being recognized is to dress as a fireman?” Inko asked and Izuku flushed, before in one last flash of green, he came back with paint.

“Well, I was going to change the design a little… Also I had an idea for not needing to tint the glass but I’m not sure if it w-will work. When I w-woke up, my hands s-started vibrating eventually too f-fast for me to focus on with normal perception. It w-was weird but maybe if I did that with my face I’d be able to keep people from identifying anything as long as my hair is covered.” Izuku explained absent-mindedly. Inko blinked again.

“Son, I’m going to be honest with you. That will be a terrible costume.”

He sighed. “I know… but better one that works then none at all which c-could get me seen.”

He smiled when she couldn’t argue and waved her hand as if telling him to get to work.

* * *

He really did try at first to avoid unnecessary conflict. If he saw something suspicious he might follow for a moment, determine if a hero was doing something about it then leave and if there wasn’t a hero, get his costume, come back and keep watching.

There had been a few times he’d have to run into alleys, punch a criminal in the gut at superspeed and pull the victim to safety. In fact a disturbing fact seemed to be that Musutafu was kind of lacking on patrolling heroes.

They were always on the main streets so almost everything Izuku knew he inarguably had to get involved with was always in the back alleys. He spent two whole weeks following his mother’s rules perfectly.

Then there had been another incident with a get-away vehicle where the car had been barrelling towards a young boy who hadn’t seen it coming. No one could argue his intervention was necessary as he got the boy out the way, but the heroes had been there that time.

And that small shift had opened an accidental gateway into Izuku slowly fudging the rules more and more over time, slowly waning them down. He wasn’t sure if it was because he enjoyed the thrill or If it was always going to happen with his helping people thing but…

First he only got involved when absolutely necessary in front of heroes, then he got involved when arguably another hero could do something but was too slow, and it seemed like a better idea for Izuku to do it.

Then surely enough, he started doing it even when he wasn’t needed. This all leading to a point where a month later, all of Musutafu had at least heard of the rumour of Bolt it had seemed.

Izuku wasn’t sure he liked the name, seemed too plain to him but he couldn’t do anything about what the people called him. Either way, now he’d even rush in while their pro heroes in active fights with villains if he saw an opportunity to end it fast.

And that much was probably for the best, as it was no secret the heroes didn’t always do their jobs but instead drew out fights for flashy performances just to get better hero rankings.

Backdraft was rumoured to be particularly annoyed his chance to get higher in the public rankings by having an epic battle with a flamethrowing villain was thrown out the window by the villain being abruptly dunked in a lake by the vigilante known as Bolt, handcuffs placed on them already.

Izuku meanwhile, other than having to occasionally battle with his mother over being allowed outside, was having the best time of his life. A quirk, being able to help people, no school, no Kacchan and no bullying.

He felt amazing and had wanted to go for a normal paced run just to enjoy the day, having to assure his mom everything would be fine before he set out into the park.

He wasn’t really sure what brought him to the shops, probably just coincidence but then he’d seen a doddery old man moving about the parking lot as he shouted frantically at others. “Come on! You must get some help! One of those forsaken pros is needed right now!”

Yet everyone seemed to be ignoring him, brushing him off as a nutter more than likely due to the fact he was behaving quite eratically.

“Sir?” Izuku had asked as he approached, feeling a sense of obligation to check on the matter. “What’s wrong?”

“Oh! Yes, you young man! Please, you have to get help!” He pleaded. “There were these young hooligans just hanging about here just now and they just took off.”

“Um… sir, I don’t think the pro heroes can do anything just because of their age or dress sense.” Izuku said kindly, assuming that’s what this was about.

“No! You misunderstand, they were waiting there for ages and they didn’t leave until this young girl, about your age came out! She went in alone and then I saw one of them point her out to the other, and they took off after her like they were stalking here. I don’t think they meant well at all!”

Izuku felt his stomach drop. That was definitely not good, and god knows where they were now. “Right, I’ll go get a hero right away sir.”

“Oh good lad! Hurry!”

And Izuku did hurry, but not to get a hero. Instead, the second he rounded the corner out of sight he bolted back home, put on his lacking vigilante suit and rushed back. Barely a minute had passed by the time that Izuku finally finished his search and came upon the group that had clearly grown.

Five grown men against… his eyes widened and a flare of anger ripped inside him.

“ **GET AWAY FROM KODAI!** ”

The ‘fight’ that followed was a brief spell of utter lunacy as the villains all panicked. The first to respond was the villain with dog-like mutations, Fido as Izuku mentally referred to him, who charged at Izuku.

That was a bad move as in an instant Izuku was on the other side of the dog villain and managed a harsh enough stomp into their back leg that they buckled. In barely a second a hundred punches across the face had been delivered and the villain fell over dazed.

Izuku turned only to see a fist inches from his face and time slowed down from his perspective as there was a bright burst of green lightning off his body, the teen casually ducking around the fist and letting out a sigh. The big dude, Bubba in Izuku’s head, would be hard to take out on his own strength.

However, Izuku realized he didn’t have to when he let time repeat normally and the large villain stumbled forward, stepping on Fido who let out a howl and caused the massive Bubba to fall forward flat on his face.

With a grin he couldn’t help, the vigilante turned to face the remaining three. The plain teenager was next, pulling out a knife from his jacket and rushing not for Izuku but Kodai, tailed by the bald leader.

Izuku turned to run for them only to spot the rotten-toothed villain, Rot in his head, pulling his head back before breathing at Izuku. He was confused for just a moment until he realized the air was tinting green and the floor started dissolving. With wide eyes he ran out the alley and in a second was on the other side, spotting the wall in the way coming up.

With a deep sigh and hope he ran straight at it and much to his relief and secret delight he managed to shift his body to run straight up the wall, before coming down the other side.

Rot had to go down first, no doubt. He had the most dangerous quirk as far as he could tell. First though, Izuku delivered the harshest gut punch he could manage right into the leader’s stomach and grabbed the knife arm of the plain boy, twisting his momentum around so….

Izuku slowed down and the boy suddenly turned and smashed face first into the wall as the leader keeled over from his hit. Izuku wasted no time watching them though instead turning and running right to Rot, kicking him in the back as fast as he could.

The kinetic energy from the attack did the job Izuku hoped it would and instead of just throwing the man forward a little bit he was practically launched right out of the alley, rolling across the ground and hitting Bubba on the way.

No way he was getting up fast after that. Izuku quickly turned and felt confident when he saw the plain villain on the floor clutching a broken wrist before noticing the leader and going pale.

There was a hand reaching into some kind of portal and pulling out what looked like a handgun inches from Kodai. Izuku moved to run but in the brief time he’d been in normal speed Kodai had already seemingly decided she’d had enough of being the one in distress not hesitating to grab the gun and in an instant it shrunk down into what seemed like nothingness, followed by the girl grabbing the villain’s shirt.

It shrunk down suddenly and the villain’s eyes went wide as he started making choking noises. Izuku stayed put, not because he didn’t have the speed to interfere but because, well…

Kodai could kick ass apparently, and that she did as she suddenly dropped down and swept the villains leg out from under him, followed by a harsh punch to the face that knocked the man out.

“ **Uh…N-Nice going.** ” Izuku blinked, his voice coming out distorted again. It was a trick he’d learned by pure coincidence while he’d been learning to vibrate his face to hide it.

“Mm.” She said, before suddenly having her facial expression change for once. Her tone was still monotone but it sounded a tad more urgent than normal. “Behind you!”

He turned and his own eyes widened as the plain teenager had a spare knife inches from his face. Time slowed down and Izuku set his face before narrowing his eyes.

He took the knife, quite casually, and ripped it out the teen’s hand as he threw a fast punch forward that knocked the villain on his ass. Throwing the knife away, the vigilante then disappeared in a trail of green lightning before finding himself standing in front of Kodai two seconds later.

The villains were all tied up behind him, with one extra punch each for good measure to keep them down.

“…Thank you.” The girl said quietly after a moment, looking him up and down as if inspecting something.

“ **You’re w-welcome. Are you okay?** ” he asked, concerned, hoping nothing had happened he hadn’t seen.

“Mm. Nothing too serious.” She showed her arm had a cut. “Leader threw a knife with his quirk.”

“ **O-Oh… well uh…** ” He couldn’t leave her out here where she could run into more bad guys. She saved him before so he owed her anyway. With a deep breath to calm his nerves, Izuku spoke. “ **Would you p-perhaps like a lift home? I am not busy a-and I wouldn’t want to take the risk of t-their being back-ups around** .”

For a moment Kodai seemed to freeze, before looking back. Was she looking for an exit to run? Was he scaring her?! Oh no, Izuku you idiot-

“O-Okay.” She said, surprising Izuku when she briefly stuttered. In fact she seemed more rigid, as if she was forcing herself into the spot. “Please.”

“ **I d-don’t want to make you uncomfortable..** . **”**

“It’s okay. Please.” She said with a tad more force. Whether it was for him or her, he had no idea but with a nod he walked forward.

“ **Where d-do you live?** ” he asked, hoping it wouldn’t sound creepy. The answer he got dropped his jaw.

“Musutafu apartment complex block three. Building two… apartment thirty-eight.” She said, quietly almost as if she knew the information would surprise him.

After a second of gaping he realized she’d be waiting on him and shook his head. He could deal with that later.

**“Hold on then. You m-might want to close your eyes.** ” He said and she nodded, picking up her groceries before closing her eyes. Izuku calmed himself then watched the world slow down, somehow making the girl before him look even prettier than she already did.

And she was already very pretty-

His eyes went wide and his cheeks went red as she shook his head. Where had that come from?

Ignoring his odd thoughts, he knew she’d be waiting so he set off.

From Yui’s perspective, likely barely a second of darkness and wind rustling would have passed and then they were there. In front of his- in front of  _ their  _ two apartments.

He set her down.

“ **Alright. T-There. Well, I had better g-go now-** “

“When your apartment is right there?” She asked suddenly and Izuku froze, going wide eyed.

“What do you-“

“You knew my name. The only one who would know me and call me Kodai is you, Izuku.”

….

Oh crap.


	5. The Truth Comes Out

To say Yui was shaken was an understatement. That was fairly understandable, even in a world like theirs with villains lurking around the corner, it wasn’t every day you were ambushed by an entire group of criminals in a dark alley.

Add the girls own shy anxious personality and frankly it was a miracle she hadn’t shut down yet. Though she knew she couldn’t, not with Izuku right in front of her like this.

So he was Bolt all along? How the hell did that happen?!

She knew it had to have something to do with the green lightning bolt at the garage, but that only gave birth to about a hundred more questions. Either way, she was torn between jumping for joy and congratulating him, running from him like she always did, and just sitting jaw dropped that _he_ was the vigilante.

Fortunately, the adrenaline of the fight was still going through her, even if her own role was incredibly minimal. She never thought she’d actually use her self-defence lessons her mother had sent her to before she got to U.A. but here she was.

She’d surprised even herself with her competence, though, she was certainly glad for it. Then suddenly, Izuku spoke up as he turned to leave, still vibrating his face behind the glass mask.

“ **Alright. T-There. Well, I had better g-go now-** “

Her own eyes widened slightly, this was the chance she needed! She couldn’t keep letting these chances slip by! She had to say something…

And thanks to the adrenaline, she managed it.

“When your apartment is right there?” She asked. Izuku froze, turning in surprise and though he likely didn’t realize it his face stopped vibrating, revealing she was right. It was Izuku under that mask.

“ **What do you-** “

“You knew my name. The only one who would know me and call me Kodai is you, Izuku.” She stated as confidently as she could, amazed she was actually managing this, even with the adrenaline. The green haired teen’s eyes went comically wide and his jaw dropped.

“…I don’t-“

“And you stopped vibrating.” She said, pointing forward, her voice coming out as dry as ever. “I can see your face.”

Izuku blinked several times in surprise before quietly cussing, looking around to make sure no one had seen them as his face vibrated again.

“ **Darn it. A-Alright uh… Shoot. Just uh… go put your g-groceries inside and come back, and I’ll explain. Okay?** ” He said and she nodded.

“Mm.” She said as a way of affirmation before turning and walking inside, her mind whirling around as fast as Izuku could apparently run. Did that mean Izuku was the reason her father was saved? She had just assumed he’d managed to use his quirk briefly by sheer luck to get inside the balcony.

Her parents waved to her before both froze as they saw her. Her mother immediately rushed over as Yui put the groceries down. “Yui? You’re completely white! What happened, sweetie!?”

“Mm.” Yui shrugged, gesturing to the bag. “Villains.”

“WHAT?!”

Yui flinched and suddenly she was wrapped in tight arms as both her parents hugged her, her father’s voice reaching her next. “What do you mean villains, sweetheart?”

“Ambushed.” She said, trying not to wince when she was squeezed tighter. “Vigilante saved me.”

“A vigilante?” Her father asked before her mother’s eyes lit up.

“You mean that Bolt person? He’s real?” She asked curiously. and Yui nodded. She was worried how they might react for a moment before her mother sighed in relief and smiled. “Well, I didn’t think I’d say this but thank god for the vigilante then.”

“I thought you didn’t like vigilantes?” Her father asked curiously and her mother just shrugged.

“If they saved my daughter, they’re alright in my book.” She said seriously and Yui let out a tiny sigh of relief. Thank god for that, if they ever find out. “You should get to bed and relax sweetie.”

“Mm. Not yet.” She said shyly, her face tinging pink, unbeknownst to her. “Izuku invited me in.”

She missed the twin grin’s on her parents' faces, though she didn’t miss the concern in their tone.

“And you’re sure you can handle that right now?” They asked, clearly worried about her. Yui nodded her head determinedly.

“Yes.” She said, more bravely then she felt even if it wasn’t conveyed in her tone. “May I go?”

“Well… alright but I want you back in an hour for dinner.” Her mother told her seriously and Yui sighed in relief, nodding her thanks. She hugged them both before turning and leaving, going up to the Midoriya residence and knocking on the door.

It only took a moment for the door to open and when it did, Inko opened it. She stopped for a moment, looking Yui up and down before smiling a soft, tired smile. “Hello, Kodai. Izuku said you found out his secret?”

“You know?” Yui asked in surprise, before wincing. That probably sounded rude. “Sorry.”

“No, it’s okay. Yes, I know. Approval is a different matter, but I certainly know.” The older woman told her, ushering her inside to where Izuku was, sitting on the couch now in normal clothes and waiting. “Izuku, Kodai’s here.”

He looked over and smiled nervously with a blush. Yui nodded her head, her face now betraying her with a tinge of her own as she sat down.

“So… I’m Bolt.” Izuku clearly had decided to just bite the bullet in the short few minutes they’d been split apart. “I assume you want to know more than that though…”

“Please.” Yui nodded,she decided to just voice the question on her mind, her usual shyness forgotten as pure curiosity took over. “The lightning bolt?”

“Y-Yeah.” Izuku nodded shyly. “That’s where w-we think it starts, c-cause of the healing thing you said you saw. Then when I woke up…”

And saw, Izuku spent the next ten minutes explaining everything. He explained the way time slowed down which sounded so cool to Yui, the way he seemed to be able to decide whether his own perception of his speed was for it to be normal speed or if he himself wanted to experience it as super speed, how he possessed enhanced healing thanks to it. He even explained how it seemed to have affected his physique and Yui hoped her reddened face wasn’t obvious when he began talking about the abs. If she were a less shy girl, she might have even asked to see them.

Then finally, the story wound to a close, after he explained how the vigilantism started and continued and how he’d found her. She was incredibly thankful for that old man noticing her and her unwanted followers, otherwise Izuku might have never shown up.

“And s-so, t-that’s the whole story. That’s w-why I’m Bolt and why my q-quirk’s now registered as S-Speed and not quirkless.” Izuku finished and the raven haired girl nodded thoughtfully. It was certainly a fitting name and it did wonders for her heart knowing Izuku not only had a quirk now but clearly a powerful one that would help him stand up to people. Izuku however looked really sheepish. “I’m s-sorry, please d-don’t be mad.”

…What?

“…Mad?” She asked, her mind crashing to a halt before her frown managed to deepen and she eyed the boy curiously. “Why would I be mad?”

“F-For lying to you? I d-didn’t mean to h-hide it, I just….” Izuku trailed off and Yui sighed. Then, she got an idea. This was it.

She had to tell him. Her heart screamed at the realization and every instinct she’d gained over the years screamed to run, but she didn’t. Because for the first time, it wasn’t just a want to tell him, it was something he  _ needed _ to know now. Something important for him to know, it was only fair after he admitted the truth to her.

He knew about the apartment now. He deserved to know.

And somehow, even though she’d never be entirely sure how, she managed to gather the confidence to speak up.

“I’d be a hypocrite if I was mad.” She said, making both son and mother look at her confused. She sighed. “You know I live next door now.”

“O-Oh, yeah. That w-was a really big surprise. Why didn’t you s-say anything?” Izuku asked and Yui winced, as she felt Inko’s calculating gaze on her. She sighed and bit down her worry, ignoring the churning in her stomach.

“Izuku, the truth is… I’ve lived beside you since I was four.” She said. The room went silent as Izuku stared in shock. “I… I’m the one who kept sneaking those glasses of water and first aid kits to you.”

“That was you?” Izuku asked quietly, eyes scrunching up in confusion as he processed that. “Wait but then… why didn’t… why-“

“I was scared.” Yui admitted as she looked down. “I saw you once when we were both four, I’d just moved in and… I wanted to be friends… I wanted to say hi. I went to meet you in the park but…”

“That was the day you brought Izuku back unconscious in that toy car.” Inko suddenly realized and Yui nodded, feeling her heart going a mile a minute. Her face was heating up. Was her throat going dry? The air felt stuffy, was her breathing alright?

“Yes, I got my quirk trying to help then. I was scared so I waited but next time I went to talk to you… I was scared, and shy… and still shy… and then we grew up, and I kept wanting to talk to you but… but… I was scared you’d hate me for taking so long. Think I was weird. I’m sorry… I… I shouldn’t have said anything. Please don’t hate me!”

She suddenly stood up, she could feel her panic attack coming on and she went for the door but very suddenly, there was a massive gust of wind and Izuku stood in front of her but he didn’t look angry, or miffed, or even that confused.

He just looked worried as he put a hand on her shoulder. “Kodai, c-calm down! I d-don’t hate you, okay? I’m.. c-confused but I don’t hate you. Just take d-deep breath, okay?”

She nodded confused, even though she still felt like she should run and did as he said. Deep breaths. Deep breaths.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

In.

One more breathe out and suddenly she felt very tired as she fell back against the wall. Izuku was very patient though, grabbing her and gently helping her down to the floor into a sitting position.

It wasn’t much but it did help her feel a little better. What really helped was Izuku’s voice though. “I w-wouldn’t- I am n-not mad you w-waited so long. I g-get it, s-shyness sucks. You d-don’t need to be s-scared of me r-reacting bad, t-though, okay? I’m c-confused w-why m-me… b-but… d-do you still w-want to be friends?” He asked the last part quietly, tentatively and Yui nodded despite herself. She somehow forced herself to look up and meet his eyes. They were soft, kind, warm… and he smiled.

Then he did something that undoubtedly surprised them both, he hugged her. Her mouth dropped open slightly and it was clear by the way his arms hovered ready to move away anytime he wasn’t sure if this was right but he forced himself to speak anyways. “I’d l-like to be f-friends a-as well, if y-you want.”

This… this was really happening? The thing she wanted and kept running from, it was finally coming to her, letting her have it?

She nodded her head slowly before hugging him back and answering in a small voice. “I’d… really like that.”

“Me too.”

They both stayed quiet for a moment before they then realized what they were doing and both promptly let go, each blushing fairly noticeably as Inko smiled like a feral cat in the living room from where she was watching.

“U-Um… w-we go to the s-same school s-so… d-do you w-want to go up t-together w-when I go b-back next week?” Izuku asked and the girl looked up in surprise, as Izuku pressed on. “A-And maybe e-eat lunch t-together or s-something? J-Just if you want to-“

And then, Yui did something she very rarely did. She smiled.

She smiled a very bright, wide smile showing her brilliant white teeth, as her monotone managed to briefly slip into a genuinely happy tone of voice.

“I’d love that.” She said simply as Izuku gaped. It took her a moment to realize and her smile faded slightly. “If it’s okay with you? Are you-“

“S-Sorry, just…” Then, he surprised both of them with the next words that slipped from his mouth. “You h-have a r-really pretty smile.”

…

Yui felt her face heat up and Izuku’s face went bright red.

“A-Ah, I m-mean its j-just its n-nice I don’t w-want to s-sound weird or anything or m-make you-“ She stopped him by smiling and putting a hand on his shoulder. It took a great delve into her courage to speak up but it was made easier by the compliment and the amazing way the day had gone that for once Yui didn’t even freak out as she spoke.

“Thank you. You look like a tomato when you blush.” She said, very seriously. “I like tomatoes.”

Izuku’s face went redder as Yui managed a giggle as she stood up. “I’ll knock when I’m ready?”

“O-Okay!” Izuku said excitedly and Yui smiled as she stepped out the door, her smile never leaving her. Her parents noticed and smiled back when she appeared and eventually after a nice hearty meal Yui retired to her room.

And then she cried herself to sleep, but not out of sadness. No, her tears were those of joy.

Despite the issue of being ambushed, this was so far one of the greatest days of her life and she was beyond happy.

She was finally friends with Izuku, and she’d never let that slip away from her.

* * *

“Kazuhiko.” A voice called from within a dark office deep in Musutafu. A man with sandy blonde hair and piercing red eyes, who was quite scrawny and wearing a white tank top looked up. “Have you heard the news?”

“Oh, you mean the rumours about Bolt?” Kazuhiko asked, spitting the name out as if It wasn’t something vile on his tongue. “I hope that’s all they are, you should be the only one…”

“Which is exactly why I need to know if these are just rumours. If they aren’t, then I must know what he’s capable of.” The voice in the shadows said. It was neither gruff nor soft, an exact middle. It had a cold edge to it, like a salesman with only illicit products to sell, regardless of the consequences said items might bring. There was also a light but noticeable perverse excitement that sent a chill down Kazuhiko’s spine. “I believe it’s time we let our dear friend Eiji loose.”

“Sir? But he’s so reckless and he’s…. hardly a good or obedient soldier.” The scrawny man pointed out, gritting his teeth. The voice in the shadows made a noise of dismissal similar to a tut.

“Perhaps, but he will be good enough for this. Instruct him he may go and do as he pleases, so long as he keeps a low profile. I estimate it will take a month, maybe two before he gets sick of hiding and steps out. By then, I will have a very good idea of what we’re dealing with.”

“Well… if you’re sure sir.” Kazuhiko said uncertainly, sighing as he left the room. He stepped into another and lit up a massive room filled to the brim with cages.

Cages filled with humans. Starved, in rags and begging for freedom or food.

“Please! Let me go!”

“I have a family! Please!”

“I’m scared… please… I want my mom…”

“You sick bastards!”

“I’m so cold….”

Kazuhiko ignored them all. The products weren’t his issue.

No, his only issue was setting the one at the back of the room free. He located the cage and saw a man curled up asleep inside. He scoffed, as he read the tag on the cage.

_ Name: Eiji Hamada _

_ Age: Twenty-three _

_ Notes: Approach with caution. Previously a villain. Name: Chrono-Devourer _

Kazuhiko sighed and shook his head as he opened up the cage, snarling out a greeting.

“Up you get, Eiji. Time to cause some havoc…”

**Author's Note:**

> Want to talk to me on discord? You can find me at Syber Space:  
> https://discord.gg/aSMswsv
> 
> You may also be able to find me on Epsi's Hoard if you're lucky:  
> https://discord.gg/thehoard


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